Arif Sağ (born 1945) is a Turkish singer,
bağlama virtuoso, and leading figure in modern
Turkish folk music
Turkish folk music (''Türk Halk Müziği'') is the traditional music of Turkish people living in Turkey influenced by the cultures of Anatolia and former territories in Europe and Asia. Its unique structure includes regional differences under ...
. A former academic, he was also a member of the Turkish parliament from 1987 to 1991.
Early years
Arif Sağ was born to a miller at Dallı village of
Aşkale district in
Erzurum Province
Erzurum Province ( tr, Erzurum ili) is a province of Turkey in the Eastern Anatolia Region of the country. The capital of the province is the city of Erzurum. It is bordered by the provinces of Kars and Ağrı to the east, Muş and Bingöl to the ...
, eastern Turkey.
At the age of five, he learned to play the
kaval, a simple traditional flute. One year later, he became interested in
phonographs and
phonograph records. He learned to play the bağlama in
Erzincan
Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The ...
when he was six years old. Until he was fourteen, he learned the
ashik
An ashik ( az, aşıq, ; tr, âşık; fa, عاشیق) or ashugh ( hy, աշուղ; ka, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as '' hikay ...
tradition, and started to sing folk poems.
He then moved to
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
and took lessons from
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
artist
Nida Tüfekçi at Aksaray Music Association. He was able to successfully build his musical understructure.
He is friend with Iranian musician Abdollah Alijani Ardeshir.
Music career
The 1960s and 1970 were for Sağ the years of style searching. During this period, he focused on commercial and official musical application rather than on music for social movements. He continued with commercial music activities as a bağlama artist at
TRT Radio Istanbul, where he began working in the late 1960s.
Sağ accompanied diverse artists and also sang his own compositions with other artists during this time. He recorded music he played and sang. The genre of his music is classified in the music terminology today as
Arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
-Phantasy music, which contained folk-music
motifs.
This indicates that Sağ could not break off with folk music.
Sağ recorded a number of
cassette tapes with other musicians in addition to more than ten solo recordings. The serial album titled ''Muhabbet'' ("
Small talk
Small talk is an informal type of discourse that does not cover any functional topics of conversation or any transactions that need to be addressed. In essence, it is polite and standard conversation about unimportant things.
The phenomenon ...
"), which he recorded with
Musa Eroğlu
Musa Eroğlu (born 1946) is a Turkish folk musician and bağlama virtuoso.
He was born in the Mut county district of Mersin. He is a Tahtacı. He completed his secondary education in Mut. He then started to perform Turkish folk dance and music. I ...
,
Muhlis Akarsu
__NOTOC__
Muhlis Akarsu (20 February 1948 – 2 July 1993) was a Turkish folk singer and Bağlama player. He was killed, along with 34 others, during the Sivas massacre in Sivas, Turkey when a group of Islamist rioters set fire to the hotel ...
, and later
Yavuz Top, helped introduce Turkish folk music to broad masses after 1980.
Markoff comments on one of his performances that "Sağ has been consistent in his truly creative approaches to refashioning standard baglama repertoire. His performance in 1982 of the Ankara dance piece "Yandim Seker" provoked objectionable responses when he performed it in a solo recital at the San theater in Istanbul."
Sağ survived the 1993
Sivas massacre
The Sivas massacre ( tr, Sivas Katliamı) or Madimak massacre ( tr, Madımak Katliamı) refers to the events of July 2, 1993 at the Hotel Madimak (''Otel Madımak'') in Sivas, Turkey, which resulted in the killing of 37 people, mostly Alevi intel ...
, in which 37 were killed and 51 injured. He had gone to the city to attend a conference of left-wing Turkish intellectuals.
With the support of
Roman Herzog
Roman Herzog (; 5 April 1934 – 10 January 2017) was a German politician, judge and legal scholar, who served as the president of Germany from 1994 to 1999. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the first president to be elec ...
, then
President of Germany
The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...
, Sağ gave a concert together with
Erdal Erzincan and
Erol Parlak, accompanied by the
Cologne symphony orchestra, at the
Kölner Philharmonie
The Kölner Philharmonie is a symphonic concert hall located in Cologne, Germany. It is part of the building assemble of the Museum Ludwig and was opened in 1986. The Kölner Philharmonie is located close to the Cologne Cathedral and the Cologn ...
on 5 May 1996.
This performance played an important role in introducing
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
n music by bağlama to the West.
Between 21 January and 5 February 2000, Sağ went on a concert tour in twelve European cities with the Spanish roma
flamenco
Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...
guitarist
Tomatito
José Fernández Torres, known as Tomatito (born Fondón, 1958), is a Spanish roma flamenco guitarist and composer. Having started his career accompanying famed flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla (with Paco de Lucía), he has made a number of ...
.
Academic career
In 1976, Sağ was appointed instructor at the newly-established State Conservatory for Turkish Music at
Istanbul Technical University
Istanbul Technical University ( tr, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, commonly referred to as ITU or The Technical University) is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical universit ...
. He left this position in 1982 to devote himself to private activities.
He co-authored the textbook ''Bağlama Metodu'' ("
Method
Method ( grc, μέθοδος, methodos) literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In recent centuries it more often means a prescribed process for completing a task. It may refer to:
*Scien ...
of Bağlama") together with
Erdal Erzincan.
Political career
Sağ entered politics in the 1985-founded
Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP), and became a Deputy of
Ankara Province
Ankara Province ( tr, , ) is a province of Turkey with the capital city Ankara.
Demographics
History
The site of the modern city has been home to settlements by many historic Anatolian civilizations in antiquity and classical times, in ...
in the
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Const ...
following the
1987 general election. He served as the first Turkish artist in parliament until
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
.
Together with some parliament members of the SHP, he was a founder of the pro-Kurdish political party
People's Labor Party
The People's Labour Party ( tr, Halkın Emek Partisi, HEP), sometimes translated as the People's Work Party, was a pro- Kurdish political party in Turkey. It was founded on 7 June 1990 by seven members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly expel ...
(HEP) in June 1990.
The party was banned in July 1993.
Sağ, himself an
Alevi
Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, w ...
, was harshly criticized by Alevi organizations for his participation in a workshop addressing political solutions for Alevi issues and for democracy, which was organized by the
Government of Erdoğan in Istanbul in 2010. He responded that "the problems of Alevis can only be solved with diplomacy".
Personal life
Sağ married Yıldız Bayşu, daughter of composer Abdullah Nail Bayşu, in July 1970. The couple had a son and daughter. His wife died of cancer at the age of 60 on 18 October 2016.
In May 2017, Sağ was diagnosed with lung cancer.
After some treatment, his physician advised him to go to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. In December 2017, he was treated in Cuba for five days with medication in the form of
sublingual drops. Following his return to Turkey, he said that he felt better.
On 15 March 2018, he underwent an open
brain surgery
Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peri ...
on a
brain tumor
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...
at a private hospital in Istanbul.
Discography
Following is a list of albums by Sağ:
*''Gurbeti Ben mi Yarattım?'' (1981)
*''İnsan Olmaya Geldim'' (1983)
*''Muhabbet 1–5'' (with
Muhlis Akarsu
__NOTOC__
Muhlis Akarsu (20 February 1948 – 2 July 1993) was a Turkish folk singer and Bağlama player. He was killed, along with 34 others, during the Sivas massacre in Sivas, Turkey when a group of Islamist rioters set fire to the hotel ...
,
Musa Eroğlu
Musa Eroğlu (born 1946) is a Turkish folk musician and bağlama virtuoso.
He was born in the Mut county district of Mersin. He is a Tahtacı. He completed his secondary education in Mut. He then started to perform Turkish folk dance and music. I ...
and
Yavuz Top) (1983–1989)
*''Halay'' (1988)
*''Duygular Dönüştü Söze'' (1989)
*''Türküler Yalan Söylemez'' (1990)
*''Biz İnsanlar – Kerbela'' (1990)
*''Resital 1'' (with
Musa Eroğlu
Musa Eroğlu (born 1946) is a Turkish folk musician and bağlama virtuoso.
He was born in the Mut county district of Mersin. He is a Tahtacı. He completed his secondary education in Mut. He then started to perform Turkish folk dance and music. I ...
) (1990)
*''Ben Çaldım Siz Söyleyin'' (1991)
*''Halaylar ve Oyun Havası'' (1992)
*''Direniş'' (1993)
*''Umut'' (1995)
*''Seher Yıldızı'' (with
Belkıs Akkale) (1996)
*''Concerto for Bağlama'' (1998)
*''Golden Bağlama with The İstanbul State Symphony Orchestra'' (with
Erdal Erzincan and
Erol Parlak) (1999)
*''Dost Yarası'' (2002)
*''Davullar Çalınırken'' (2005)
*''Anadolu Döktürmeleri'' (2006)
*''Ezo Gelin – Dizi Müziği'' (2007)
*''Şekeroğlan – Saz ile Oyun Havaları'' (2011)
Bibliography
Two books have been written about him in interview style:
*
*
See also
*
Ashik
An ashik ( az, aşıq, ; tr, âşık; fa, عاشیق) or ashugh ( hy, աշուղ; ka, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as '' hikay ...
*
Alevi
Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, w ...
References
External links
Personal websiteArif Sağ Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sag, Arif
Living people
1945 births
People from Aşkale
Bağlama players
Turkish singer-songwriters
20th-century Turkish male singers
Turkish folk singers
Alevi folk poets
Alevi singers
Academic staff of Istanbul Technical University
Social Democratic Populist Party (Turkey) politicians
People's Labor Party politicians
Members of the 18th Parliament of Turkey
Deputies of Ankara
Turkish male writers
21st-century Turkish male singers